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The pyramids in Egypt attract a lot of conspiracy theories. We sort of get it – they are ancient structures covered in hieroglyphics, containing the mummified bodies of pharaohs, as well as various long-lost chambers that are only just now being discovered thanks to new imaging techniques.It is perhaps not surprising that there are conspiracy theories that the pyramids were built by aliens (they weren't) or that they were somehow made to align with coordinates expressing the speed of light centuries before that coordinate system was invented (long story short, coincidences happen, of which this is).One such conspiracy theory we hadn't stumbled across before is currently circulating on X (Twitter); the idea that the pyramids show signs of erosion from a great flood, and that they were created as a time capsule to survive them.                 IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.                 IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites."To all the science pretenders and PhDogmatists out there, you cannot dismiss this observation by induction, hearsay, or equivocation," the poster continues. "Your standing hypothesis MUST definitively explain this feature - not simply accommodate it - or you are pushing pseudo science."Of course, this is not how science works. The burden of proof is on them to prove this hypothesis – and with extraordinary claims, you'd better be packing extraordinary evidence. Archaeologists already have perfectly plausible explanations (based on evidence found by studying them, textual accounts, and so forth) for how the pyramids ended up looking the way they do, without invoking a great flood. The pyramids as we see them today are not how they appeared when they were built. The huge blocks you see at the pyramid were once concealed underneath "casing stones" made of limestone, giving a smooth, shiny appearance. These were gradually taken away over the centuries and used for other building work, exposing the blocks underneath. Some are still there at the base of the pyramid, having been protected from being removed by the sand covering them, and the easier access to non-buried stones.For fans of the outlier hypothesis (a great flood eroded the pyramids up to the top), the burden is on them to explain a lot of things. For a start, it would be helpful to explain why a great flood submerged the world, but we don't see evidence of this event in the geological record.The claim that the pyramids are far older also needs to be backed up with a lot more than an "I reckon". The pyramids have been dated through several methods. First, the pyramids were dated through years of painstaking archaeological work."Primarily we date the pyramids by their position in the development of Egyptian architecture and material culture over the broad sweep of 3,000 years. So we're not dealing with any one foothold of factual knowledge at Giza itself. We're dealing with basically the entirety of Egyptology and Egyptian archaeology," Mark Lehner, Archaeologist, Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, and Harvard Semitic Museum explained to PBS."The pottery, for example. All the pottery you find at Giza looks like the pottery of the time of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure, the kings who built these pyramids in what we call the Fourth Dynasty, the Old Kingdom. We study the pottery and how it changes over the broad sweep, some 3,000 years. There are people who are experts in all these different periods of pottery or Egyptian ceramics."Then, when radiocarbon dating was developed, these ages were confirmed to be accurate by analyzing various materials found at the pyramids."For example, we used seeds and plant material from Tutankhamun's tomb, which is very precisely dated," Thomas Higham of the School of Archaeology at the University of Oxford told the BBC. "We also used seeds from a room underneath the Saqqara step pyramid dated to a specific year of the reign of King Djoser."For those disappointed that the pyramids are overwhelmingly likely not to be an ancient time capsule from ten thousand years ago, take solace in the fact that the Great Sphinx may have actually begun forming thousands of years ago (and not through human involvement). In 2023, a team looked at how features known as "yardangs" can be formed through wind erosion (no, not all erosion comes from flooding), taking on the rough shape and proportion to that seen in the Sphinx, much later carved into its current form.“These results show what ancient peoples may have encountered in the deserts of Egypt," the authors concluded, "and why they envisioned a fantastic creature.”

A major planetary mystery appears to have a solution. The so-called "cotton candy planets" are worlds with such an extremely low density that they were challenging our theories of planet formation. Now astronomers seem to have worked out how they came to be, and it was made possible by observing what goes on inside one of them – an incredible achievement.The planet in question is WASP-107b. It has a volume of more than 75 percent of Jupiter's but less than one-tenth of its mass, giving it one of the lowest known densities among planets. So, this world has a large atmosphere – but original models to explain more about the planet created different puzzling pictures.One scenario suggested the world has a small core and a large atmosphere. It would certainly explain the current observations, although it was not clear how such a small rocky structure would accumulate such a big gassy envelope.The other option was a much larger core. And that too had a problem. The planet is much closer to its star than Mercury is to the Sun, but the star is significantly dimmer. Unlike other cotton candy worlds, WASP-107b doesn’t get enough light to heat up (and then expand the atmosphere). A larger core should mean a smaller world.It was information gathered with JWST that solved the mystery. The planet passes through the line of sight between us and its star, and in doing so some starlight is filtered through the atmosphere. By observing the filtered light, JWST was able to determine some of the components of the atmosphere. And surprisingly, there is one thousand times less methane than expected.Methane is believed to be a common element in such worlds, but on WASP-107b it is scarce. Yet, there are a lot of carbon-based molecules. So, researchers believe that methane used to be there, but has transformed into other molecules – and that transformation requires heat. Internal heat, to be precise.The team believes that the elliptical orbit of the planet is creating tidal heating in its interior. Its core is large, about 12 times the mass of the Earth and twice as large as originally estimated. The core is also hot, hot enough to be changing the chemistry of the planet and puffing out the atmosphere."Looking into the interior of a planet hundreds of light-years away sounds almost impossible, but when you know the mass, radius, atmospheric composition, and hotness of its interior, you've got all the pieces you need to get an idea of what's inside and how heavy that core is," lead author Professor David Sing, from Johns Hopkins University, said in a statement. "This is now something we can do for lots of different gas planets in various systems."The team is now investigating just how strong these possible tidal forces are on the planet, and if they can justify the heating that is consistent with the observations. WASP-107b might not be fully understood yet, but it is no longer the puzzle it used to be.The new study is published in two papers in the journal Nature: here and here. 

In 1936, Albert Einstein published what he described as a "little calculation", showing how the Sun could one day be used as a gigantic telescope. Incredible as it may sound, the concept is not so far out of our reach, and one idea for how to practically achieve it is at phase III of NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts."Some time ago, R. W. Mandl paid me a visit and asked me to publish the results of a little calculation, which I had made at his request," Einstein wrote in the journal Science. "This note complies with his wish."As implied by Einstein's general theory of relativity, giant objects in the universe bend space-time, altering the path of light. This isn't some abstract idea, but something we can do fairly regularly using telescopes such as JWST, essentially extending the telescope's range by viewing light which has been bent by massive objects on its path to Earth.Einstein realized – though clearly only calculated it under duress from Mandl – that this meant there is a region of our Solar System where light from behind the Sun is focused, having been bent by our star's gravity. How gravitational lensing works.Image credit: NASA,ESA, and Goddard Space Flight Center/K. JacksonThe region where this effect takes place is around 550 Astronomical Units (AU) from the Sun, with one AU being the distance between the Earth and the Sun. Place a telescope in that region, and we could use it to view the surfaces of exoplanets, without the need for engineering mind-bogglingly huge space telescopes (or telescope arrays) that would otherwise entail."The gravitational field of the Sun acts as a spherical lens to magnify the intensity of radiation from a distant source along a semi-infinite focal line," Von Russel Eshleman, who first proposed a mission to make such a telescope, wrote in a paper. "A spacecraft anywhere on that line in principle could observe, eavesdrop, and communicate over interstellar distances, using equipment comparable in size and power with what is now used for interplanetary distances. If one neglects coronal effects, the maximum magnification factor for coherent radiation is inversely proportional to the wavelength, being 100 million at 1 millimeter."Right now we can use gravitational lensing to see incredibly distant objects, but we are limited by the location of these objects, and objects which happen to be behind them. Using spacecraft, we could place our telescope on the opposite side of the Sun to the distant object we want to view, dramatically upping our viewing distance. It has been proposed in a project in phase III of NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts that using this method, we could image the surface of exoplanets in our stellar neighborhood."Even in the presence of the solar corona, the [signal-to-noise ratio] is high enough that in six months of integration time one can reconstruct the exoplanet image with ~25 km [15.5 mile]-scale surface resolution," NASA explains, "enough to see surface features and signs of habitability.""Of course, there is no hope of observing this phenomenon directly," Einstein added. "We shall scarcely ever approach closely enough to such a central line."While that is still a huge distance – Voyager I has reached a little over 160 AU since its launch in 1977 – it is looking a lot more achievable than it was when Einstein ruled such a mission out. The NASA project proposes using a "swarm architecture" of smallsats using solar sails to propel them to the required position in under 25 years.                               Though there are still astronomical challenges ahead for such a mission (including significant distortion introduced by gravitational lensing, and moving spacecraft vast distances to observe the object behind it that you are interested in), it is possible we could  build up images of the actual surfaces of alien exoplanets within our lifetimes. Which is pretty cool, even if Einstein thought of it as a distracting chore to note down and publish.

At long last, CBS aired its special featuring anchor Norah O’Donnell’s interview of Pope Francis which, as predicted, ran through the entire leftwing media policy pupu platter. A substantial portion of this interview was devoted, predictably, to the propagation of leftwing talking points on migration and climate change. Watch as O’Donnell leads Francis into advocating for an open border (click "expand" for transcript): NORAH O’DONNELL: In St. Peter's Square sits this monument to migrants. On top of a boat, a young boy fleeing the Irish famine. A Jewish man escaping Nazi Germany. A woman departing the Syrian Civil War. Unveiled by the Pope in 2019, calling on the faithful to "welcome, protect, promote and integrate."  This is a big story in the United States, because there have been so many migrants this year. I've been to the border and many times it is mothers with children who are fleeing violence. And they walk thousands of miles with their families for a better life. And yet, there is a discussion about closing the border, limiting migration. POPE FRANCIS (VIA INTERPRETER): The solution is migration, to open the doors to migration. For an immigration policy to be good, it must have four things. For the migrant to be received, assisted, promoted, and integrated. This is what is most important, to integrate them into the new life. O’DONNELL: I grew up in the state of Texas, which is right on the border with Mexico. The state of Texas is attempting to shut down a Catholic charity on the border with Mexico that offers undocumented migrants humanitarian assistance. What do you think of that? POPE FRANCIS: That is madness. Sheer madness. Over there in Texas, there is a great bishop, Bishop Seitz. He’s right there at the border. That man does the impossible to help the migrants, right? O’DONNELL: We met Bishop Mark Seitz at Annunciation House, a Catholic charity in El Paso Texas, where they are challenging the state's attempt to shut them down for allegedly shielding undocumented migrants from law enforcement. BISHOP MARK SEITZ: This type of accusation puts fear into the hearts of anyone who generously gives of their time because of the Christian concern for people who are truly the poorest of the poor among us, people who have no place to go, nothing to eat, no clothes. The media generally tend to treat faith like a combo menu, picking and choosing the parts they elect to propagate while denigrating those who believe those aspects thereof that the media don’t like. As Exhibit A, I give you the still-ongoing Harrison Butker kerfuffle.  The media had no choice but to cover Butker’s comments because they quickly went viral, as opposed to simply ignoring Francis when he says similar things on family, life, and marriage. Inasmuch as Francis’ stance on migration (open borders) is aligned with the Regime, Francis gets maximum exposure. This is why the interview, which encompassed such matters as… Gaza/Ukraine College campus protests Migration Climate Change Ordination of women Surrogacy/IVF Transgender/LGBTQ issues Blessing LGBTQ individuals versus same-sex couples Sex abuse scandal Francis’ health, intent to retire …featured ZERO questions on abortion. O’Donnell broached the issue of Life by coming at it from the surrogacy and IVF angle, wherein Francis’ harshest denunciation was reserved for the for-profit surrogacy industry. Abortion never made it on the air. On this issue, Pope Francis is not convenient to the Regime. Which leads us back to migration. Here again, O’Donnell frames the issue in a light most likely to tug on Francis’ heartstrings. Hence, the evocation of mothers and children arriving at the border as opposed to hordes of military-aged men from hostile countries.  There is also the verbal sleight of hand related to the Catholic charity currently being sued by the Texas AG. O’Donnell complains to Francis about the Texas AG trying to shut down the charity “that offers humanitarian assistance”. When introducing the bishop in charge of Annunciation House, she then clarifies that it’s “for allegedly shielding undocumented migrants from law enforcement”. But Annunciation House is accused of failing to comply with Texas law regarding access to facilities and production of documents, in addition to the charges of (at minimum) abetting human trafficking.  The interview trudges on before doing a hard segue from migration to climate change, that other issue where the media gleefully echo Francis (click "expand"): CBS's Norah O'Donnell segues into Pope Francis' obligatory climate homily by linking climate to migration. We pollute, therefore we must open the border pic.twitter.com/pKjAoJYa90 — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) May 21, 2024 O’DONNELL: One factor driving an increase in migration is global warming. How worried are you about climate change? FRANCIS: Unfortunately, we have gotten to a point of no return. It's sad, but that's what it is. Global warming is a serious problem. Climate change at this moment is a road to death. A road to death, eh? And it is an artificial climate change, no? Something provoked, not the normal climate change, right? O’DONNELL: You have placed blame on wealthy countries. POPE FRANCIS: In great measure, yes, because they are the ones that have more of an economy and an energy based on fossil fuels that are creating this situation, right? They are the countries that can make the most difference, given their industry and all, aren't they? But it is very difficult to create an awareness of this. They hold a conference, everybody's in agreement, they all sign, and then bye-bye. But we have to be very clear. Global warming is alarming. O’DONNELL: So alarmed, he put the imagery of the climate crisis on full display and is the first Pope to issue official Vatican documents warning in his words that the world in which we live may be, quote, "nearing the breaking point."  What do you say to the deniers of climate change? POPE FRANCIS: There are foolish people, and even if you show them the statistics, still the fool will not believe. Why? Generally, it is either because they don't understand the situation or out of a vested interest. But climate change is real. The warming of the Earth has already increased by two degrees. That is a lot. O’DONNELL: You've talked about what St. Francis called "Sister Mother Earth." That protecting our planet is the most pressing issue today? POPE FRANCIS: Yes, because it is the future, it is life. We say, at the most, "Stepsister Earth," not "Sister." Protecting the planet. How many young people today will not get to see so many things? It is a lack of conscience to use a plastic bottle and then throw it to the sea. This makes the sea unhealthy. We have to be conscientious about repurifying nature. Here, again, is an issue where Francis’ stances align with those of the Regime, unlike abortion and same-sex marriage (individual non-couple benedictions notwithstanding). More curious minds would have presented Francis with the idea of climate advocacy as a Malthusian enterprise, and asked him to square that with his pro-life positions and teachings.  But the Regime can’t have that. Nor can its Media. Which is how we end up with this interview.  

Click to Skip Ahead What to Do Risks Treatment Prevention Tips While the thought of your dog getting stung by a scorpion is scary, the good news is that scorpion stings are rarely fatal in dogs. Nevertheless, we recommend getting your dog to the vet immediately because of the pain it causes and to reduce the risk of complications. A yelp is likely the first indication your pet has been stung, but other signs include dilated pupils, drooling, and worse case, labored breathing. If you’re concerned about your dog getting stung by a scorpion, keep reading as we go over everything you need to do. Here’s What to Do The best thing you can do if your dog is stung by a scorpion is to call your vet before driving to the clinic so that they’re prepared for you and your pup. Once they know you’re on your way, put your dog in your car and drive them to the vet. The sting can be quite painful, and there are a couple of things you’ll need to keep in mind: Be mindful that your dog may not want to be touched at the wound site. Try to keep your pooch from licking the area. Apply ice or an ice pack wrapped in a towel to reduce swelling and pain. Image Credit: fizkes, Shutterstock Risks Associated With Scorpion Stings A variety of clinical signs can be seen in dogs stung by scorpions. The sting can cause pain, and inflammation, which can cause redness, swelling, and itchiness at the site. That’s potentially why your dog is so anxious to lick the wound. Possible signs of scorpion stings in dogs: Yelping Jumping back Limping Licking or pawing at the site Tremors Restlessness While there are about 100 species in the United States, the main one of medical significance is the Arizona Bark Scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus). It lives in the American Southwest and is of particular concern in the state that gives it its name. The venom can cause excess stimulation of the nervous system, leading to changes in heart rate, blood pressure, twitching and drooling. Treatment of Scorpion Stings Treatment for scorpion stings is primarily supportive. Your vet may sedate your dog if your pet is agitated, and deal with the sting site, as necessary. Follow-up includes pain medications to keep your pup comfortable. Your vet will also treat other signs, such as administering fluids if your dog has been vomiting or experiencing GI distress. Close monitoring of your dog is necessary since the effects can persist. While an antivenom exists, it may not be readily available; further, it is most effective only when administered right after the sting; it may not be efficacious after the fact. Image Credit: Goldfish Studio, Shutterstock Preventing Scorpion Stings Of course, you must always be on guard if you live where scorpions dwell, especially at night when they’re active. Anything that was outdoors needs to be checked before bringing it inside your home. That includes wood for a fire pit, as woodpiles provide ideal hiding places for these pests. It’s tougher if you’re not used to this kind of vigilance as a visitor to the American Southwest. You can follow many of the precautions for preventing ticks from getting in your house. Another clever trick is to inspect your home using a UV light. The shells of scorpions glow in the dark when you shine a black light on them. It’s a quick way to ensure things are safe without any nasty surprises lurking. We recommend supervising your dog when outside in the yard. Often, pets will sniff around, exploring their world without regard to the threats that may exist. If your pup is a digger, we suggest discouraging this unwanted behavior, as you may never know what your pooch may unearth. Final Thoughts Treating a scorpion sting promptly is imperative. These wounds are painful and dangerous if your dog has a strong reaction. Care is mainly supportive, with managing pain being a top priority. Some issues may persist, warranting close monitoring of your pet as they recover. Fortunately, these encounters are rarely fatal. Nevertheless, prevention is necessary if you live in a place that scorpions call home. Sources https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/scorpion-stings/symptoms-causes/syc-20353859 https://www.merckvetmanual.com/toxicology/venomous-arthropods/spider-and-scorpion-bites-in-animals https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/anaphylaxis-in-dogs https://extension.arizona.edu/sites/extension.arizona.edu/files/pubs/az1768-2018.pdf https://www.cell.com/cell-chemical-biology/pdf/S1074-5521(99)80085-4.pdf https://azpoison.com/sites/default/files/poisonologywhen_scorpion_meets_cats_and_dogs2.pdf Featured Image Credit: Rob Hainer, Shutterstock The post My Dog Was Stung by a Scorpion, What Should I Do? Vet Approved Advice appeared first on Pet Keen.

Mica Miller was the wife of pastor John Paul Miller in South Carolina before allegedly committing suicide — but her family and community are skeptical. Mica, who was only 30 years old, was found dead on April 27 at a state park in North Carolina of what seemed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The coroner ruled her death as a suicide. However, according to an affidavit filed by Mica’s sister, her family is questioning the conclusion and blaming Mica’s husband for alleged abuse. Her sister recalls Mica telling her “on many occasions” that “if I end up with a bullet in my head, it was not by me. It was JP.” The day after Mica died, her husband gave a sermon explaining that his wife had committed suicide and that she was not well mentally. Allie Beth Stuckey, a devout Christian herself, is troubled by the video of his sermon. “I think this is a very, very strange way, personally, to announce the death of your wife. Now, I can’t read into motivations or what that actually means, but just from my outsider perspective it seems a little weird,” Stuckey explains. Days prior to her apparent suicide, Mica had served her husband with divorce papers and sought a no-contact order against him. This wasn’t the first time she had filed for divorce, as she had filed for one last October on the grounds of adultery, but the case was dismissed. She had also reportedly called the police a number of times in the weeks leading up to her death for slashed tires and finding tracking devices on her car. John Paul had admitted in messages to slashing her tires. John Paul also has a bit of a checkered past. In 1999, he was convicted of driving his pickup truck into a woman twice as she was filling sandbags near her home because of flooding. He accelerated into the woman after she asked him to slow down and dragged her 100 yards down the road. When John Paul got divorced from his first wife — whom he had cheated on with Mica — his wife alleged in the divorce documents that John Paul had confessed to her and other church staff that he had sexual encounters with underage girls he met at the church and an addiction to prostitutes. “I just want the truth to be known,” Stuckey says. “There are a lot of troubling details about this; there are a lot of disturbing parts.” While it’s unclear what the truth is about Mica’s death, Stuckey does know one thing for certain. “He should not have been a pastor. He should not have been in leadership of the church.”Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

A Catholic "brother" who lives in a hermitage in Kentucky has come out as "transgender" in a recent announcement that has the support of the local bishop.Earlier this month, Brother Christian Matson, a 39-year-old hermit associated with the Diocese of Lexington, told Religion News Service: "This Sunday, Pentecost 2024, I’m planning to come out publicly as transgender."'I became Catholic after I transitioned because of the Catholic understanding — the sacramental understanding — of the body, of creation ... and primarily because of the Eucharist.'Matson has an usual story to tell. First of all, Matson is likely a biological female, though media outlets and her bishop, John Stowe, use male pronouns in reference to her. Matson told RNS she had a "sex-change" in college, several years before converting to Catholicism from the U.S. Presbyterian Church, and considers this "sex-change" part of her "medical history."Matson also felt called to a Catholic religious vocation, but because of her gender-related "medical history," is prohibited from entering into marriage or the priesthood, which is restricted to men. So, Matson spent about a decade earning various graduate degrees in theology and, in front of her spiritual director, even made private vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, though to whom she pledged obedience is unclear.She also reached out to various religious communities, but none would accept her. Even the Jesuits, long considered to be among the most liberal Catholic religious communities, gave her a flat rejection. "They said, ‘No, we just don’t see how this would work for us,’ which was crushing, because that’s where I felt called," Matson told RNS.Then, a canon lawyer suggested to Matson that she consider becoming a diocesan hermit. "There’s no problem as long as there’s a bishop who will accept you," the canon lawyer explained, according to Matson's recollection, "because there’s no distinction by sex and you’re not in a community — you’re by yourself."In 2020, Matson connected with Bishop Stowe, who was willing to entertain the idea of a trans-identifying individual becoming a hermit in his diocese."My willingness to be open to him is because it’s a sincere person seeking a way to serve the church," Stowe told RNS. "Hermits are a rarely used form of religious life ... but they can be either male or female. Because there’s no pursuit of priesthood or engagement in sacramental ministry, and because the hermit is a relatively quiet and secluded type of vocation, I didn’t see any harm in letting him live this vocation."Matson then joined a Benedictine monastery and eventually became a Benedictine oblate, which St. Paul's Monastery in Minnesota defines as "Christian women and men who actively associate themselves with a Benedictine monastery using the Rule of Benedict as a guide.""Benedictine spirituality is flexible and adaptable, open to all who seek God and is a way to live out the Gospel message," the monastery's website adds.Matson says she now lives in an Appalachian hermitage "with my German Shepherd rescue, Odie, and with the Blessed Sacrament, which was installed in my oratory shortly before Christmas."Matson claimed she wants her "disclosing" of her transgender identity to foster a change in the Vatican's view of transgenderism, which has not "not engaged with the science at all." "You’ve got to deal with us, because God has called us into this church," she continued. "It’s not your church to kick us out of — this is God’s church, and God has called us and engrafted us into it.""I became Catholic after I transitioned because of the Catholic understanding — the sacramental understanding — of the body, of creation, of the desirability of the visible unity of the church and primarily because of the Eucharist."Bishop Stowe noted that he and Matson both knew that Matson's transgender identity would spark outrage among the faithful, but he feels confident that Matson is where she belongs, describing her spiritual journey as "consistent with the calling of that particular vocation."A quick glance at Stowe's X posts reveals that he strongly aligns with many liberal political causes, especially regarding illegal immigration. In December 2022, he even compared illegal aliens in the U.S. to the Holy Innocents slaughtered under King Herod.He also demanded stricter gun control in the fallout of a trans-identifying mass shooter murdering six people at a Christian school in Nashville in March 2023. A year ago, he also retweeted an anti-bullying quote from Pope Francis, which said: "Every man, every woman, every boy, every girl has the duty to be authentic, to be themselves, and the right to be respected."In the following video, Bishop Stowe gives a message to Christians during the season of Advent: Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

It’s no secret America has a drug problem. Last year, there were more than 100,000 overdose deaths in America, largely attributed to fentanyl. Over the past few decades, American cities have struggled to grapple with this crisis. Instead of enforcing existing drug laws and cracking down on crime, some have chosen a different path: decriminalization. Author and podcast host Christina Dent recently joined "Relatable" with Allie Beth Stuckey to advocate for the decriminalization of drugs as a solution to America’s growing addiction crisis. Dent pushes a “health-centered approach” as opposed to a “criminal justice approach.” The former, according to Dent, addresses the root cause of addiction, while the latter could do more harm than good. Dent’s opinion was largely formed through her experience with her adopted son’s biological mom, who was an addict. Had her son’s biological mother been imprisoned for her drug use, Dent’s son never would have had a relationship with her, and incarceration would have done nothing to help her addiction. It’s true that throwing drug users in jail does little to help their addictions and could even harm them due to the availability of drugs in prisons. However, the ambiguous definition of “decriminalization” paired with the troubling results seen in American cities that have attempted such policies raises questions about the efficacy and safety of going this route. Take Oregon, for example. In 2020, voters overwhelmingly passed a resolution that decriminalized possession of hard drugs. Last month, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) signed a bill that reversed this measure and re-criminalized possessing small amounts of hard drugs, making it a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. The original measure failed largely due to botched implementation of mental health and treatment services, sparks in overdoses due to fentanyl, increased homelessness, and worsening public drug use. A recent report shows Oregon is one of the top ten most dangerous states in the country — it’s hard to imagine public drug use did not play a part in Oregon’s worsening crime. Want more from Allie Beth Stuckey?To enjoy more of Allie’s upbeat and in-depth coverage of culture, news, and theology from a Christian, conservative perspective, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

Hot Take About What Makes Michael Cohen a 'More Credible Witness' is PEAK MSNBC